Undo
by NorthernStarsPen
Summary: AU. What if Anakin survived the attack on the Death Star, only to find Padme's body frozen on Naboo? Would he try to seek his family's forgiveness? Or would he just give up altogether?
1. Chapter 1

**Undo**

The first chapter of a Star Wars Fanfiction by NorthernStarsPen.

Author's Note: This is something AU I thought of a while back. I'm finally getting it down into written format. After getting this established, I'll return to writing _Indiana Jones and the Lost Cimarosa Manuscripts_.

Basically, I thought: What would happen if Anakin lived past the attack on the Death Star, only to find Padmé's body frozen on Naboo? Would Anakin try to repair his family? Would he rather give up and die? And, would Leia and Luke accept him after what he's done? Thanks for reading.

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Anakin's POV

_ I don't remember it clearly. To be honest, I'd rather forget about it altogether. But history won't let me. My conscious won't let me. Everything won't let me forget about it. Believe me, I wish I could just wish away my feelings, but I can't. If I would, I could. But I can't. Every day I'm reminded of the monster I had become. I don't deserve to be alive. It's impossible, and yet I'm still here. My son has every right to hate me, and yet he saves my life. I can't bear to come to terms with what has happened through the past eighteen years. Nothing can undo this. I hate who I've been, but it seems like I'll always be like this. I'm encaged in an eternal prison. _

_Padmé… forgive me, Angel…_

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Luke Skywalker sighed heavily. The chances of Vader living were slim to none. No. Vader was already dead. Vader had died on the Death Star. Anakin Skywalker, his father, was going to recover.

Yes, it was a foolish hope, but it was a hope nonetheless.

Standing up to pace in the waiting room, Luke noticed the clock on the wall. Two forty-seven in the morning. He hadn't slept in Force-knows-how-many-days. More than three, for certain. Once more, he tried to contact Leia and Han on Endor, with no avail. Slumping back in the uncomfortable chair, he noticed how heavy his eyelids had become.

_ Forgive me, Father… five minutes._ Luke thought, before surrendering to sleep.

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"Kid… kid, wake up!" Han Solo nudged Luke's shoulder. Luke blinked a few times before he finally realized where he was.

"What time is it?" Luke demanded.

"Ten-thirty in the morning, Sleeping Beauty." Han said flippantly. "Now, who's this person that you claim needed so desperately to see us?" he questioned. Luke stared down at the floor. Han knew from Luke's downcast expression that something was bugging him.

"Kid?" he questioned. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Luke sat back up.

"Where's Leia? I want her to be here when I tell you." he said.

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Leia Organa would have never been ready for the news. You could have given her years to prepare, and telling her who her true parents were would still kill her. She knew from an early age she had been adopted, but she still considered Bail Organa her father.

"_The force is strong in my family. My father has it… I have it… my sister has it."_

Her eyelids shot open upon remembrance of Luke's statement a few days ago. She had always felt a connection to Luke Skywalker. Not the connection two lovers share, but rather that their lives were two halves. Two halves of a set of twins, as she had just recently found out. Still, as naïve as it sounded, she had never considered Darth Vader to be her father. Luke had almost blatantly handed her the truth. And still, her world and everything she knew came crashing down when Luke had spoken to her in that waiting room.

"_Our father might survive, Leia. We can be a family again, the way it should have been." _

Leia was in disbelief. She didn't know whether to scream or cry or just stare at Luke in disbelief.

"_It's not that simple, Luke. I can't accept him as easily as you can. He may be my father biologically, but he is not and will not be the father that I love. My father is Bail Organa, whether you like it or not, Luke Skywalker."_

Then it was Luke's turn to stare. Had Leia just said what he thought she had said?

"_He's changed, Leia. He's no longer Darth Vader. He's Anakin Skywalker. He's your father, Leia. And, he's a part of you, whether you like it or not, Leia Skywalker._"

Leia was furious. Luke was treading a very thin line with one testy princess right now. If he wasn't careful, he'd be in the hospital bed next to his dear father.

"_I don't believe you. I can't. I just need time, Luke. If… Anakin… really loves me like his daughter, then he'll let me come to accept him on his own terms."_

Leia Organa walked away in tears. How could she ever learn to accept and love the man that had destroyed her home and family? It just wasn't possible. Han ran up behind her.

"Go away. Do all men not understand what a woman means when she says she needs time _alone_?" Leia spat. Han placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Leia… talk to me. I'm here for you." he said. Leia looked up into Han's eyes.

_ How the hell can you understand what I'm going through?_ She thought. Han stroked her cheek.

"Sweetheart…" he murmured. Leia turned away from Han.

"How can he justify comments like that?" she said, choking back fresh tears. "He has no right to say that I'll just accept that my father is Darth Vader!" Leia clamped her hand into a fist and slammed it against Han's chest. Han reached out to pull Leia into his arms. Leia surrendered to Han's embrace. She couldn't fight anymore. She was drained, physically as well as emotionally. She knew she couldn't run from the truth, but she couldn't accept it either.

_To Be Continued…_


	2. Chapter 2

Undo

The second chapter of a Star Wars Fanfiction by NorthernStarsPen

_Author's Note: After finally figuring out how I'll finally tie the ending up, I felt as though I had procrastinated enough, I needed to write Chapter 2 while I still felt this "into" it. Thank you to the people who took the time to read, review (and write such lovely comments) or even add this to their favorites list. I really don't deserve you guys, but you've made it possible for me to smile like an idiot until my cheeks hurt. Sorry for this being out late… stupid English teachers. Any questions, comments or general need to throw tomatoes at the author that you don't want to post in reviews go to I'll try and respond as soon as possible._

**Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. I can't write Chemistry essays, let alone a multi-million dollar movie script.

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_So Padmé had twins… Luke and Leia Skywalker. If I was capable of crying, I would. I wanted a baby girl so badly; a Daddy's girl to train in the ways of the Jedi, to watch her grow up into a young woman so beautiful, I wouldn't let her date until she was eighty._

_But a Dark Lord of the Sith is not capable of crying. Not capable of loving. Not capable of feeling. No remorse, no regrets… no love. I destroyed myself for love. No, that's what Palpatine wanted me to believe. I destroyed myself because of fear, because of hatred._

_I don't deserve to be alive…_

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A week had passed since the battle on Endor. Anakin's treatments had gone remarkably well, according to med droids and nurses, praising his recovery. "It's astounding!" they'd praise. "It's amazing, how he fights for life!"

Nobody knew that Anakin Skywalker would rather give up on life altogether.

Luke and Leia had decided that in order to save Anakin, they would have to replace his lungs and replace his prosthetic limbs. Almost immediately, they authorized the med droids to begin regenerating his skin and hair tissues. However, Leia still did not feel certain as though she could forgive Anakin. Her mental turmoil was immense. She was saving the monster that had destroyed her home and family, everything she knew. Her world was destroyed by Darth Vader. But Luke just couldn't comprehend her anger.

Days turned into another week. Luke and Leia started planning out the future of the Empire. With Palpatine dead, the next ruler in line was Darth Vader. Unless another politician usurped the throne before Anakin recovered.

"He's a criminal, Luke. He murdered Jedi and led to the corruption of the Republic." Leia pointed out. "One he recovers, I fully intend to charge him with treason, murder in the first degree, and numerous other crimes that he has committed. He doesn't deserve the Emperor's throne. If he is tried, then perhaps democracy can resume."

Luke was growing rather tired of Leia's political talks about the future trial of Darth Vader. Between terminology that he didn't understand and Leia breaking into tears, their conversations became tedious and even bordered on dull. If there was anything that proved Luke and Leia were twins, it was their shared stubbornness. Neither Skywalker would bend their opinion to appease the other. As another argument began to surmount, Threepio entered the room.

"Oh, pardon me Master Luke, but I have a message from Nurse Lii." he said.

"Well, we'd be very excited if you shared it with us, Threepio." Luke said, a hint of annoyance in the Jedi's voice.

"Oh." Threepio said, crestfallen. "Nurse Lii said that Mister Anakin Skywalker is conscious after his surgery and is stable enough to be visited and taken off his respirator." Leia lowered her gaze. She knew she'd have to confront her father sooner or later. But now? Now, when she had been telling Luke that even if their father survived, he would surely be executed for his crimes against the Galactic Republic? Now was not the best time in Leia Organa's eyes. Never was preferable, but now was atrocious.

"Luke, you go talk to him." she said softly, hoping to avoid confrontation.

"He requests the presence of both Master Luke and Mistress Leia." Threepio said, stumbling over the final three words. Threepio knew that Leia would not be altogether pleased at the notion of her father requesting to finally see his daughter. Leia bit her lip.

"Then we shall go and see him." Leia said, assuming her politician's tone. Luke blinked in disbelief, only to arise and follow Leia into their father's room.

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Anakin Skywalker opened his eyes to be met with a blinding white room. _Am I finally dead?_ the man questioned. Death was a welcome escape for Anakin Skywalker, a sweet final reprieve taking him away from the living hell that had become his life. A slow, steady bleep from a machine to his right confirmed another truth. Anakin shifted his gaze to the machine to see what confirmed another truth. A heart monitor, beeping along steadily with the pulse of his heart.

Anakin Skywalker was alive.

_But how?_ Anakin questioned. The last thing he remembered was a man, carrying him onto an Imperial shuttle away from the Death Star… a man with blonde hair and blue eyes… a man that Anakin remembered a connection with. Soon, he remembered. _His son_. It had to have been him.

_"Luke… help me take this mask off." Anakin pleaded. For once, just to see his son's face, the way he was meant to see it. He didn't want his son to remember his father as a horrible monster. _

_"But you'll die!" Luke said, his eyes full of concern and worry. _

_"Nothing can stop that now." Anakin said. Death was welcome at this point. Anakin realized that he should have died on Mustafar so many years ago. He hated who he had become. Yes, death would finally allow him to escape from Vader's clutches. Luke shook his head. _

_"No." Luke said, determination filling his voice. "I'm not going to give up on you." he promised his father as he carried the broken body of Anakin Skywalker onto the Imperial Shuttle, racing against time to save his father's life._

Anakin remembered. _I'm not going to give up on you…_the last words he ever remembered Luke saying. Even though Luke had every right to let him die there on the Death Star, he had instead brought him here. The question was, where _was_ here?

"Oh, Master Skywalker, you've woken up!" a nurse exclaimed.

_Master Skywalker… so strange to hear that name again. _Anakin thought.

"What's happened? Where am I?" Anakin began to panic. "Where is Luke?" The nurse walked towards him, checking various machines and such, while talking to him.

"You're on Tineff VII." the nurse responded. "It's a medical base for the Rebel Alliance. Luke Skywalker has close relations here." Anakin shuddered at the thought of his son, dragging in the body of Darth Vader, pleading for his father's treatments. _I'm not going to give up on you…_

The nurse continued. "You're very lucky to be alive, Master Skywalker. It's been two weeks since your son brought you here. However, both your children authorized regenerating your skin and hair tissues and replacing your prosthetic limbs and lungs. It's inspiring, how much you've fought. In about three weeks, your skin and hair will be back to the way it was before your accident on the Mustafar system. What we must watch, however, is whether or not your body will reject your new lungs. We will keep a close watch on that." Anakin processed this mound of information. Regenerating skin and hair tissues? Replacing lungs and limbs? Two weeks of being unconscious in a hospital bed? His children authorizing treatment? That meant Leia was with Luke, wherever the two happened to be.

"Do you need anything, Master Skywalker?" the nurse asked. Anakin chose his words carefully.

"Are Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia here?" Anakin did not know if this nurse was a particular insider on the Skywalker family tree, or if the entire Alliance happened to know that Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa were siblings.

"Yes, sir." the nurse said.

_I'm not going to give up on you…_ Luke's words haunted Anakin.

"I'd like to see them, if at all possible." Anakin requested. The nurse smiled.

"Of course, Master Skywalker. If you need anything else, just ask for Nurse Lii." she said.

Anakin Skywalker looked up at the ceiling, anticipating finally seeing his children for the first time, face to face, no longer inhibited by the mask of Vader.

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"Look, Princess, I don't like this anymore than you do." Han insisted. Leia didn't slow her pace. Luke sighed heavily, glancing over at Han. Mildly annoyed, Leia didn't slow down, nor shift her gaze from the hallway in front of her.

"If Anakin requests my presence, then I shall be there." Leia simply responded, taking on the same air as when she needed to be a politician, not a sister or daughter. Leia's harsh tone stung Luke deeply. Leia still referred to her father as Anakin. Luke never imagined it would take Leia this long to accept their father. Maybe this would change her mind.

Han Solo wasn't thrilled at the prospect of meeting Leia's father. Scratch that, he was downright terrified. _"Mister Skywalker, I humbly apologize for any and all fantasies I have entertained about your daughter in a certain gold bikini…no. Mister Skywalker, I humbly apologize for my cavalier behavior while around your daughter…I'm dead." _Han thought. Leia's father was gonna kill him.

Luke stopped short of the door, his hand resting on the knob.

"Leia, are you ready for this?" he asked. "Because if you're not, I know father will understand." he hastily added. Leia locked eyes with her older brother.

"If he requests my presence, then so be it." Leia icily replied. Luke nodded. If Leia said she was ready, then who was he to stand in her way?

With that, Luke, Leia and Han entered the room.

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Anakin's eyes opened when he heard the doorknob click out of place. He turned his head towards the door. Walking in were three figures, two men, one woman. Anakin immediately recognized Luke. To Luke's right was a taller man with brown hair and darker features. Who was he? Slightly behind the mysterious dark man was the woman. She had long brown hair and chocolate-colored eyes.

_Oh, Padmé… she looks so much like you._

"We're here, father." Luke said, walking closer to his father, kneeling beside the hospital bed.

_Father… _

Luke brought his hand up to touch Anakin's left hand, or what was left uncovered by needles and monitors. Anakin glanced down at Luke, then back at Leia. Leia appeared to have no remorse in her gaze.

_She has every right to hate me…_

The other man appeared dumbstruck. Finally, the awkward silence was broken.

"That's your father?" the other man asked.

"It would appear so." Leia answered. Leia always thought Vader hid behind his mask to appear more terrorizing, not because he was the broken man that lay before her. As much as she hated to admit it, compassion started to swell in her heart for her father. Obviously, something had happened to him that warranted his suit a necessity. Luke said it was an "accident" on the Mustafar system before their birth. Leia begged to differ, that was, until now. Even with most of his skin and hair tissues re-grown, horrible burn marks were visible on his face and neck.

"Father, this is Leia, my sister." Luke said, walking behind Leia and putting a hand on her shoulder. Leia shirked off Luke's touch.

"Leia…" Anakin breathed. It was so strange to hear his own voice again, not the voice of Vader through a respirator.

"Who is the other man? I know I've seen him before, but I can't place where." Anakin said.

"Han Solo, sir." Han said, approaching Anakin. Anakin's face contorted in horror.

"Bespin." Anakin said, realizing where he had seen Han before. This was the Han Solo that he had frozen in carbonite, the same Han Solo that Leia was in love with. Han furrowed his eyebrows.

"What does he mean, 'Bespin'?" Han questioned. Anakin was downright confused.

"They… they didn't tell you?" Anakin questioned, his voice barely above a whisper. Leia turned towards Han, placing her hands on his chest.

"Han," she started. Already, Leia was struggling to fight above the tears stinging her eyes, struggling to maintain her composure. Struggling to admit the truth.

"Han… my father… my father is… he is…" Leia became so overcome with tears that she couldn't finish her sentence.

"Darth Vader is… your _father_?" Han spat out the last word in disbelief. Luke was quick to jump to his father's innocence.

"Han, he's changed. He's no longer Darth Vader, he's…"

"Don't get up on your soapbox, kid." Han shot back. "While you may think he's changed and that the evil has left him in some magic voo-doo, Leia and I still think he's the same creep that kidnapped his own daughter and froze me into a decorative wall hanging for Jabba."

"He's right, Luke." Anakin said. "I understand if they don't trust me right away, especially considering what I've done." Looking over at Leia, who had tears rolling down her cheeks, Anakin added, "Leia… please know I never intended to hurt you."

Leia finally snapped and ran from the room, running away from the truth. Han followed her down the hallway. Luke walked back over to his father morosely.

"She'll have to realize sometime…" Luke started. Anakin looked up at his son's eyes.

"Luke, I can't force your sister to love me. Think about how hard this must be for her to realize. I want Leia to love me on her own terms. Thank the Force that you've accepted me as quickly as you have. Give her time, Luke. She may never accept me, I deserve it." Anakin said. Luke sighed and looked down at the floor. Then he shifted his gaze to Anakin, who stared blankly ahead.

"Get some rest, Father. You'll need your strength later on." Luke said, leaving the room.

As soon as Anakin heard the door latch behind Luke, he finally allowed the tears, which had been building up for years, to flow free. Finally, after years of entrapment in Vader's clutches, Anakin Skywalker could finally shed the tears which had been held back since he had lost his beloved Padmé.

_Padmé… I'm so sorry, Angel. _

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Leia walked past her father's room once more before leaving for the night. Peering in through the window, she caught a glimpse of her father, staring at the ceiling. Leia felt the same sympathy from earlier that day build up in her chest. She was so entangled in her emotions, wrestling with the truth; she didn't hear Nurse Lii walk up beside her.

"He's in a lot of pain right now." Nurse Lii remarked. Leia turned to look at her.

"How so? I would understand from surgery…" Leia started. Nurse Lii shook her head.

"Worse. While the surgery was incredibly painful, he's been experiencing a lot of pain today from his tears." Nurse Lii said. On closer inspection, Leia noticed that indeed, Anakin was crying.

"Do you mean he's been experiencing emotional pain?" Leia asked, not sure of the meaning of Nurse Lii's metaphor.

Nurse Lii shook her head. "Tears contain salt, which is incredibly painful when it comes in contact with the open wounds on his face. Until they completely heal from bacta treatments, any time salt comes into contact with the wound, it will be excruciatingly painful." she explained. Leia appeared horrified.

"I had no idea that his happened with your patients." she said. Nurse Lii nodded.

"It happens frequently. Tears sting the wound, which creates more tears. It's a circle of pain that should never be inflicted on anyone, regardless of the sins they've committed." the nurse explained somberly. Leia's gaze at Anakin was unbroken, as if a deeper level of sympathy and understanding for Anakin Skywalker was tapped within Leia Organa.

"Do you want a moment alone?" Nurse Lii asked. Leia nodded, her eyes brimming with tears. Once Nurse Lii was out of earshot, Leia finally buried her head in her hands and sobbed. Sitting down on the floor, Leia folded her arms on top of her knees, hiding her face from the world.

"Anakin…" Leia started. "Father, forgive me." she finally managed to whisper in the silent hallway.

_"It's a cycle of pain that should never be inflicted on anyone, regardless of the sins they've committed…"_

_To Be Continued…_


	3. Chapter 3

**Undo**

The third chapter of a Star Wars fanfiction by NorthernStarsPen

Author's Note: Thank you so much for your patience in waiting for Chapter 2. My exams took far longer than expected. On a side note, though, my AP English Composition teacher downright hated this (we had to turn in two chapters of a fictional storyline that we were expanding based on a character analysis previously written). He loved my character analysis of Anakin Skywalker, but hated the first two chapters of Undo. Hm… foreshadowing, methinks: )

As always, any comments or general need to throw rotten fruits at me go to I try to respond to every email or review I get within three days. Alright, enough with me.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Star Wars, I don't own Rush of Fools, I don't even own the pants I'm wearing right now (they're my cousin's, in case you had to know).

_I've been here before… now here I am again._

_Standing at the door, praying you'll let me back in…_

_To label me a prodigal would be only scratching the surface_

_Of who I've been known to be…_

_Turn me around, pick me up,_

_Undo what I've become…_

_Bring me back to the place of forgiveness and grace._

_I need you; I need your help,_

_I can't do this myself…_

_You're the only one who can undo what I've become…_

**From "Undo" by Rush of Fools**

During the remainder of Anakin's treatments, Leia slowly came to joining Luke whenever Luke happened to visit Anakin. Sometimes the conversation could be painful for either father or daughter, but Leia was offered a better glimpse at who Anakin truly was, without Vader inhibiting the love he had for his children. Incrementally, Leia began to tear down the emotional wall between herself and Anakin. It was a slow process, but Luke could see it beginning. Anakin must have known that somehow, Leia would eventually tear down the boundary separating father and daughter.

Yes, it would only be a matter of time.

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_"Anakin!" Padmé cried out in horror. Immediately, Anakin was roused from his slumber. Padmé seemed to still be asleep, in the clutches of a nightmare. Sweat dripped from her forehead as she writhed in her sleep, still screaming her husband's name. _

_"Padmé… Angel, wake up, it's okay." Anakin murmured, shaking her awake. Padmé's eyes shot open when she heard Anakin's voice. Anakin pulled Padmé into his embrace, noticing that she was still shaking from her nightmare. _

_"It's okay," Anakin murmured as he held Padmé tightly. "What's wrong?" he asked. Padmé looked up at her husband with tear-filled eyes, almost afraid to tell him._

_"I can't… it won't happen." Padmé said with determination. _

_"Padmé, we've been married for two years. I want to help, please… tell me. What's wrong?" Anakin pleaded. Padmé looked down at the floor, almost in shame. Anakin moved closer, brushing a wayward curl out of Padmé's face, caressing her cheek. _

_"I had a dream that you… you turned to the dark side." Padmé said in-between sobs. "That you had… killed Jedi, and tried to kill Obi-Wan… Anakin, promise me that will never happen." Seeing his wife's anguish, Anakin felt his heart breaking. On their wedding night, Padmé had told Anakin that even if they had nothing, all she would ever need was Anakin and his love. _

_"Ani… It wasn't you in my dream. You were overtaken by this… monster. I want you to be the Anakin Skywalker I know now, the Anakin I fell in love with. Promise me that will never change." Padmé pleaded. Anakin laced his fingers through his wife's hair. Gazing into her deep brown eyes, he whispered, "I promise." _

Anakin sighed heavily upon remembrance of that night. Anakin had only three years with Padmé before he was overtaken by Darth Vader. Remembering back to that night, it tore Anakin apart to realize that he had failed his promise to Padmé. Once he had been deceived by Palpatine, he had failed every promise he had ever made to Padmé.

_"Ani… all I want is your love…"_

Anakin tried to shut out that night on Mustafar out of his mind. But the image of his wife, begging him to come with her, to help her raise their child, haunted him. "_If I just had one more chance… to tell Padmé that I loved her and apologize for what I had done to her…_" Anakin thought. But Padmé was dead. Palpatine had told him so after Anakin had been transformed into Darth Vader.

"_But she must have lived to give birth to Luke and Leia._" Anakin started to think. But it was impossible, Padmé couldn't still be alive.

"Anakin?" a voice interrupted Anakin's thoughts. At first, Anakin thought it was Padmé. As he turned to look in the direction of the voice, he realized it was Leia.

"Good afternoon, Leia." Anakin said. "Where's Luke?" he asked. Leia approached Anakin.

"He's out on an errand." Leia responded. "I decided to stay here with you."

_"I decided to stay here with you…"_ Anakin could barely contain his joy. Leia, who swore five weeks ago that her father was Bail Organa, wanted to stay and talk with her father, rather than go on a pointless political errand with her brother. Anakin smiled. Leia sat down on the edge of the bed. "How's your physical therapy coming?" she asked. Anakin shrugged.

"As good as it can come, I suppose. They say I'm almost back to full strength." Anakin said. Leia smiled. Anakin had only minor scars that were almost completely healed on his face, but his skin and hair had completely grown back. His recovery was truly miraculous. Without regenerating the skin and hair tissues from the DNA left over at the Imperial Records, Anakin would have surely died or been on life support until his death. His body had accepted the transplanted lungs, much to Luke and Leia's relief. Even Han was beginning to accept Anakin. Except, of course, whenever Han happened to lose a round of Sabacc to the elder Skywalker.

"The nurses say you can be released in a few days." Leia said. Anakin nodded.

"Then you'd want to take me to Coruscant so I can be tried, right?" Anakin asked. Leia shook her head, much to Anakin's disbelief.

"It took me about two weeks to realize, but the new Republic needs you to re-start the Jedi Order and help reinstitute democracy. We need you now, more than ever." Leia said. Anakin drug a hand through his hair.

"What I really mean is," Leia continued, swallowing the immense lump building in her throat, "I need you now. Even though I still feel anger towards your actions, I realized that I lost my father once, and I didn't want to lose him again."

Now it was Anakin's turn to cry. Leia buried her head in her father's shoulder as Anakin wrapped his arms around his daughter. The world around Anakin started to fade away. This was the way it was supposed to be, Anakin Skywalker and his daughter, Leia. Not Darth Vader and the Senator of Alderaan.

"I love you." Leia whispered. Anakin fought back fresh tears at Leia's words.

"I love you too, Leia." he whispered.

As Luke Skywalker walked past his father's room, he noticed Anakin sitting up, holding Leia in only a manner that a loving father can. Luke smiled triumphantly. His father had been right. Leia was beginning to accept her father on her own terms. So much for "Jedi intuition." Anakin had been right all along. Even though Leia hadn't completely accepted Anakin, it was only a matter of time.

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Three days later, Anakin Skywalker looked around the room one more time. Today was the day that he got to start over again. The Force had blessed him with another chance, time to start anew with his son and daughter. Luke walked up behind him.

"Ready?" he asked. Anakin looked at his son earnestly.

"I don't deserve this. I should be dead. I should have died twenty years ago." Anakin said. Luke smiled.

"Sometimes we don't deserve the blessings the Force gives us. We're just incredibly lucky to have such blessings for the short amount of time that we do." Luke explained. Anakin chuckled.

"You're a much wiser Jedi than I could have ever hoped to be, Luke." Anakin said, almost to himself. "I know you'll go far in life." Luke smiled as Anakin put an arm around his son's shoulder.

"Let's get out of here." Luke said.

With that, both Skywalkers, father and son, left the hospital room.

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On board the _Millennium Falcon_, Han flippantly asked for any suggestions as to where the Jedi and Senator would like to go. He didn't quite expect the answer he was given.

"Naboo." Anakin said absentmindedly. "I'd like to fly to Naboo." Han stared at Anakin with a confused look etched on his face.

"May I ask, why Naboo?" Han said, sounding mildly annoyed with Anakin at the given moment.

"Personal reasons, Captain Solo." Anakin retorted. _"I need to know. I can't move on without resolve about Padmé's life."_ Anakin thought. Luke furrowed his eyebrows.

"What personal reasons?" Han asked. Now Han Solo was annoyed.

"I'll tell you when we arrive. Patience is a virtue that is essential to life, Han." Anakin said, sitting in the co-pilot's seat.

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_Planet Naboo, Capital City of Theed_

Anakin walked down the ramp of the _Millennium Falcon_, almost blinded by the mid-day Naboo sunlight. Naboo had certainly changed from what he had remembered. It must have changed so drastically since the formation of the Empire. Who knew if the Library of Theed was still in existence? Anakin didn't. Anakin pulled his hood over his face to disguise his identity. He didn't want to take any chances. It was only mere weeks since the fall of the Empire; it would be strange if Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi who was presumed dead in the Great Jedi Purges twenty years ago, was walking the streets of Theed after being presumed dead for twenty years. Nobody would happen to overlook that. He couldn't risk the connection between Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader being made… not yet.

"The library should be right over here." Anakin said to Luke. Leia followed her brother and father through the nearly abandoned streets of Theed. Although she had only seen images of the great capital city, it had changed much since the formation of the Empire. What was once remembered as a great city of trade and culture that's livelihood was in its festive holidays and cities was now a barren city, with hardly any indication that it was even still inhabited. Why had Anakin brought them here?

Upon entrance of the library, Anakin pulled off his hood noticing that there were not many people in the library that day. If there was any information about his angel, Padmé Amidala, Naboo's most beloved queen, it had to be here. A young librarian walked up to Anakin.

"Can I help you, sir?" she asked. The girl was obviously too young to know who Anakin was.

"I need information on Senator Padmé Amidala, please." Anakin requested. The young girl smiled.

"Follow me, sir." she said.

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Anakin poured over data disc after data disc. Surely, there had to be information on the death of Padmé Amidala, where her grave was located, anything just to give Anakin resolve.

"Why are you researching Queen Amidala?" Han asked, leaning against a bookshelf. Leia shook her head.

"It can't be…" she said. Looking at the image of the former Queen and Senator, Leia felt the same connection that she had with Luke. This wasn't possible. Queen Padmé Amidala just couldn't be…

"Is she?" Leia asked. Anakin turned around to see Luke and Leia look at him with eyes that begged to know the truth. Anakin nodded.

"Luke, Leia… that is your mother, Padmé Amidala Skywalker." Anakin said, resuming skimming through the mounds of information.

"What?" Han snapped straight up, moving towards the data pad. He looked at the image of the former Senator and Queen, then towards Leia.

"Okay, so your dad is Darth Vader, your mom is a Queen… anything else you want to fill me in on, Princess?" Han spat accusingly. "Like Luke was a cross-dresser in a former life?" Luke sighed and rolled his eyes. Leia shook her head with remorse. Anakin glared at Han, just a warning glare, but enough to make the smuggler uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry." Han muttered. Anakin turned back around to search for the information he was looking for.

Forty-five minutes later, Anakin had reached the end of the seventeenth data disc on the life and death of Padmé Naberrie Amidala. Looking at the image of his angel, laying still in eternal slumber in her coffin, still clutching the japor snippet a certain little boy had given her tore at his heart. Still no information concerning the burial site.

"Where's the next disc?" Anakin asked. Luke looked at his father with sympathetic eyes.

"Father, that's all the discs the library has. If there was any information, you would have already found it." Luke said.

"That's impossible!" Anakin snapped. "There has to be the location of her grave somewhere! Somebody has to know!" Anakin's voice escalated to an almost yell in the quietly still library. A woman who looked to be in her late twenties approached the foursome timidly. Inside of her, she kindled a faint hope that this man was indeed, Anakin Skywalker. But it was impossible, a foolish hope. Her parents had told her that Anakin had died in the Great Jedi Purges, killed by Darth Vader. Darth Vader, the horrible monster that also killed her aunt.

"Excuse me sir, I couldn't help but overhearing…" the woman started. Anakin turned to face the woman, who he seemed to vaguely remember from his life before the darkness. The woman appeared startled at looking at Anakin's face. Anakin noticed the shock on her face.

"Forgive me, sir, but…" the woman fidgeted nervously. "Has anyone ever told you that you look very much like Jedi Anakin Skywalker?"

Anakin felt his jaw hit the floor. He had been recognized. Much less, he had been recognized by a woman that was probably a small child before the rise of the Empire. But something about this woman, her brown curls, jubilant brown eyes and gentle demeanor made Anakin feel as though he had a connection with this woman.

"How did you know Anakin Skywalker?" Anakin questioned, trying to place the woman's face in his memories. The woman's face went sheet white. She looked carefully over her shoulder, and then moved closer to Anakin, so that no one could hear the confession she was about to verbalize.

"He was my uncle." the woman whispered. Anakin's eyes grew wide.

"Pooja?" Anakin asked incredulously. The woman nodded. Anakin smiled.

"Pooja, it's me. Uncle Anakin, remember?" Anakin asked, almost as giddy as a child who was told they could have a piece of candy before dinner. Pooja's eyes clouded in doubt. Anakin's smile fell when he realized that he still appeared to be twenty-three, Pooja was at least twenty-seven. He appeared younger than his own niece. How old was he, technically? Twenty-three, the age he was at the fall of the Republic? Forty-four, the number of years since his birth? Seven weeks, the number of weeks since his first treatment?

"Pooja, please listen. I know it seems hard to believe, but I really am Anakin. I met you when you were four years old; you and your sister, Ryoo, caught Padmé and I kissing in the pantry shortly after the battle of Geonosis; your favorite game was Hide-and-Seek; you'd love it when I'd float fruit across the table at dinner…" Anakin continued. Pooja shook her head.

"How is this possible?" she questioned.

"It's… complicated." Anakin sighed.

Pooja gazed down, then back up at Anakin. "I guess you'll tell me later, then."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So what's brought you back to Naboo after all these years?" Pooja asked as Anakin, Luke, Leia and Han continued to walk the streets of Theed with the youngest Naberrie. "And why have you disappeared for so long?"

"Like I said before, I was taken captive by Darth Vader. He told me that Padmé had died in childbirth. I believed him until I found Luke and Leia two years ago. I was horribly burnt in an accident, so after Luke had taken me to receive medical treatment, I kept thinking about Padmé. I needed to come here, to have resolve about her death. I no longer believe Darth Vader's lies. I need to know the truth." Anakin stated, looking at the bright blue Nubian sky.

"The truth?" Pooja paused, stopping abruptly. Anakin nodded.

"Pooja, I must know." Anakin pleaded. Pooja walked to the separate side of the bridge, overlooking the waterfall that centered all of Theed. She turned after what seemed like an eternity to face Anakin.

"Only a select few know that the grave of Padmé Amidala is empty." Pooja quietly stated. "A handmaiden stood in for her at the funeral. The entire funeral was staged to throw off Emperor Palpatine. If he had known that Aunt Padmé survived, he surely would have hunted her down and killed her. That's why my grandfather took the precautions he did." Anakin's eyebrows lowered as he processed all this information. Padmé survived? Her funeral was staged?

"Where is she now?" Anakin asked. Pooja sighed.

"The Jedi that was with her when she gave birth had her frozen to slow the process of her body eventually shutting down all the vital organs. He did this in hopes that it would prevent her from dying. It did, according to the medics. However, we never took the risk of unfreezing her until we knew the threat of the Empire was eliminated." Pooja somberly responded. Anakin felt as though he had been crushed under a two-ton weight. His Padmé, his angel, frozen for twenty-one years? Almost completely forgotten by her family and friends? A Jedi had frozen her to prevent her from dying?

"What was the name of the Jedi that was with her?" Anakin asked.

"A Jedi Master named Obi-Wan Kenobi." Pooja responded. "We never heard from him again."

_Obi-Wan… Obi-Wan saved Padmé's life._ Anakin thought. Even after Anakin had fought Obi-Wan, tried to kill Obi-Wan, his master still saved his wife's life. Anakin didn't deserve a friend like Obi-Wan.

"Where is her body?" Leia asked, breaking Anakin's silent reverie.

"Polis Massa, the same place she gave birth to you, Leia." Pooja responded. Leia started to shake. Her mother, still alive, yet frozen in ice at Polis Massa? This was harder to believe than Anakin's return to the light. Anakin looked forward with icy determination.

"Captain Solo, we have an apparent need to travel to Polis Massa." Anakin said. Han nodded. Pooja smiled sadly.

"I can't go with you." Pooja started.

"Why not?" Luke asked his cousin. Pooja shook her head.

"Imagine how hard it will be for her already, seeing that her infant children are now twenty-one years old. I'd just complicate matters further." Pooja remarked somberly. "Anakin?" she asked. Anakin earnestly listened to his niece.

"Please keep in touch. And please, let Aunt Padmé know how much we miss her, how much we love her." a single tear fell from Pooja's face as she pleaded. Anakin hugged his niece.

"You have my word, Pooja." he promised.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On board the _Millennium Falcon_, Han and Anakin began searching through navigational charts to find the quickest route to Polis Massa. The moon was located in the Outer Rim, more than twelve hours from Naboo. Anakin didn't want to waste any time.

"Either way you look at it, Paps, its gonna take Chewie and I over twelve hours to get there. We're not going to get there any time soon." Han remarked.

"There's no way you can get there faster?" Anakin begged.

"Not unless there's something you know about this ship that I don't." Han shot back. Anakin shook his head.

"There has to be a faster way. We'll look for fifteen minutes. If we don't find a better route by then, we'll go by the route you suggested. But we can't waste time, Captain Solo. I've wasted twenty-one years; I'm not going to waste another minute." Anakin said with a solid determination.

Rolling his eyes, Han bent over the navigational charts with Anakin once more, trying to find a way to reach Polis Massa in record time.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Luke had walked inside the cockpit with Leia, to await Han and Anakin's decision. Luke's eyes darted from button to button, switch to switch. There were so many of them. How was Han ever able to get this falling apart piece of junk off the ground? A button to his left, a bright orange button was flashing. The button flashing was signaling an incoming message. Leia noticed it as well. Luke sighed. He knew who would be sending a message. Leia knew as well.

"It's probably her. Luke, you need to tell her sometime." Leia reasoned. Luke nodded. He pressed the flashing orange button as a miniature image of Andromeda Gemini was projected in front of him. Her long black hair was tied back in a simple ponytail, her green eyes flashing with rage. Andromeda Gemini was a headstrong individual who had butted heads with Luke on numerous occasions, but he had never seen her quite as angry as right now.

"Luke Skywalker, where are you?" Andromeda demanded.

"Naboo." Luke responded matter-of-factly. Andromeda appeared bewildered.

"Naboo?" the young woman echoed. "You told me to wait on Yavin! What in the seven hells of Corellia are you doing on Naboo?" Andromeda fumed. Leia's face remained stoically placid as she watched the entire scene unfold in front of her. While Andromeda and Luke got along fairly well, there were occasions where the friendship became stretched to the breaking point. Leia had to sympathize with her newfound friend, Luke did not explain, nor did he plan to explain to Andromeda why he had been so late in coming back to Yavin. Not only was it ignorant, it was just plain rude.

"We had an unexpected passenger join us." Luke answered calmly. Surely Andromeda would understand. Andromeda was once an "unexpected passenger" they had literally "run into" on Tatooine, the same person responsible for getting Leia into Jabba's palace to attempt to free Han.

Luke thought back to how he had met Andromeda. He had been walking through the streets of Mos Espa, searching for Han, when a woman about twenty years old had come running like mad in the other direction, two drunken men in pursuit.

_She had come running as fast as she could, running right into him._

_"Are you alright?" Luke questioned the young woman._

_"No, they're after me!" the young woman shrieked. _

_"What for?" Luke asked. The woman's eyes widened in terror as the men drew closer._

_"I was trying to barter for passage to the Corellia system. I lost the bet and had no money with which to pay…" the woman shakily explained. The men were drawing closer. Luke firmly grabbed her hand, yelling one simple command._

_"Run!"_

He didn't think, he just grabbed her hand and took her with him. When Luke tried to turn her loose again, Leia adamantly refused. She would not send a homeless woman about the same age as herself to the horrid surroundings of Mos Espa. Since then, Andromeda had been with Luke and Leia until she had promised Luke to stay on Yavin at the rebel base until the fighting was over. It was a whirlwind leading into the friendship, but Andromeda had quickly earned Leia's trust, and vice versa. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Luke. He wasn't exactly trusting of a twenty-year-old woman he had met only three months prior, in Mos Espa, no less.

"Luke Skywalker, tell me the truth, what is going on?" Andromeda demanded, her eyes flashing with rage.

"If she wants the truth, then tell her." Leia urged.

"Yes, Luke, the truth." Andromeda echoed. Luke hated it, absolutely hated it, when the two women managed to gang up on him. _Women…_Luke thought.

"Yes, and while you're at it, tell me who exactly this young woman is, Luke." Anakin chorused from the back of the room. Luke had never explained who Andromeda was to Anakin, his father had no idea that Andromeda even existed. Luke turned around suddenly, his mouth hanging agape. All this secrecy was beginning to catch up with him.

"Andi…" Luke began.

"Don't call me that." Andromeda snapped. If Luke Skywalker thought he could win her over by using the cutesy little nickname he had coined, he had another thing coming.

"Andromeda," Luke began again. "This is our extra passenger. Andromeda, I'd like to introduce you to my father, Anakin Skywalker." Andromeda's eyebrows lowered in confusion.

"Luke, you told me your father died in the Clone Wars…" Andromeda pointed out. Leia sighed heavily. If Luke had told her the truth, none of this would have been an issue at the current moment in time.

"Andromeda, this won't be easy for you to hear…" Luke started.

"Andromeda?" Anakin interrupted. It simply wasn't possible, but the girl bared a striking resemblance to a person he knew at the uprising of the Empire… the assassin that had trained a young girl named Mara Jade. "What is your full name?" Anakin said, moving closer to Andromeda's image, to inspect the young woman before him.

"Andromeda Gemini. My mother didn't happen to bless me with a middle name." Andromeda responded. Why would Luke's father want to know her name? None of this was making any sense.

"That's not possible…" Anakin murmured.

"What's not possible?" Luke questioned. Anakin shook his head. "It can't be…" Anakin whispered. Anakin realized who Andromeda resembled. Andromeda looked like Anise Gemini, a former assassin who Palpatine entrusted with training Mara Jade, who later took Gemini's place as Emperor's Hand when Gemini died on a mission to war-torn Cato Nakana. Only the Emperor and Darth Vader happened to know that Anise Gemini bore a child in the first year of the Empire's existence. A stillborn, force-sensitive daughter.

The daughter's name was Andromeda.

_To Be Continued…_

**Author's Note: Oooh… evil cliff-hanger. I decided to introduce a new AU character to complicate matters further. The result was Andromeda Gemini. Don't worry, more about Andromeda will be revealed in further chapters. EU fans, turn away NOW. I don't know much about the EU, and even Lucas says it's not canon, so the EU will be almost completely ignored. Sorry. Now we really get involved in the plot. Please, please, please grant me patience while getting up the next few chapters. The date for "Undo" Chapter 4 to be up is tentatively scheduled for December 12. Should the date change, it will be posted on my profile. Until then, loves… **

**-NorthernStarsPen (Darlene)**


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